Hope Springs Eternal
by Midnight Rose 0498
Summary: Rebekah Mikaelson is tasked with keeping her niece, Hope, safe and hidden from those who want to hurt her. Bella Swan is lost, trying to recover from the drugging presence of Edward Cullen and deal with the aftermath, namely a sadistic vampire out for her life. A chance encounter leads to friendship between the two girls. Join them as they struggle through life together.
1. Bloodthirsty Meetings

Rebekah POV.

Rebekah Mikaelson was bored. Nik had decided that living in a small, unknown area would be the best thing for Hope, especially after the loss of her mother. So she had taken the girl to a backwater town called Forks. Niklaus and Elijah wouldn't be much longer. They were just finalising some things in New Orleans before meeting up with them.

The city held too many bad memories for them now. It was where they lost Hayley, her heart was ripped out before she could complete the transition, and it was where they almost lost Hope. Elijah was devastated. He had truly loved Hayley, in a way he hadn't loved anyone before. Living there now was impossible for him. And Klaus didn't want Hope to grow up in a city where she almost died or to have reminders that her mother wasn't going to be able to raise her.

Rebekah loved her niece and she loved living with her. She just hated the small town. There was really nothing to do except go to school and she couldn't exactly do that with a child. Not that she would want to, not after what happened last time. Still, there was a bright side. This town may be dull but at least it isn't Mystic bloody Falls.

And she didn't have to deal with Caroline bloody Forbes or the annoying, selfish twit known as the doppelganger. Honestly, what did Klaus and Elijah see in them? Caroline Forbes was an annoying, insecure, neurotic little bitch. Elena Gilbert was a self-absorbed, uncontrollable little bitch who treats her friends like crap. Take Caroline, for example. She didn't like her at all but even she felt bad for the girl.

Caroline really suffered a lot of abuse at the hands of her so called 'best friend.' She was neglected, belittled, looked down upon and even attacked by Elena Gilbert. Not to mention the damage done to her by Damon, Bonnie and Tyler. Rebekah may not have liked the younger vampire but she did respect her. She was honest, which is something that was extremely rare in that bloody town, and they did have a mutual sense of understanding. But they just shared too many traits for them to really get along.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when someone collided with her outside the small supermarket she was about to enter. She managed to stay upright but the other girl wasn't so lucky, she had fallen on her behind. Luckily Hope wasn't there, she was at the local day care. At 8 months old, Rebekah felt her niece was ready to socialise with other children. Of course, the workers were compelled to not reveal any information about Hope or Rebekah.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."

Rebekah looked at the other girl. She was pretty, in a sort of plain way. Brown hair, brown eyes, heart-shaped face and not a bad figure. But she looked like she was panicked. Her eyes were wide and her heart was racing a mile a minute. Before she could say anything, the girl quickly stood up and ran off, calling over her shoulder.

"Sorry again but I have to go! I hope you're ok!"

Rebekah was surprised, to say the least. Not many people would run away after crashing into someone like that, not in this town anyway. Everyone was too damn polite for that. She stood there for a minute, frowning, before an awful scent made itself known. She knew that sickly sweet smell. It was the stench of a Cold One. And it seemed like it was coming from the same direction the girl had gone.

Rebekah stood there for a minute, unsure whether to follow the girl or not. Her choice was made when she heard the sounds of someone being thrown into a wall and the unmistakable snap of a bone breaking. She took off after the girl, blurring down the side alley she had disappeared into. She was shocked at the scene before her. The brown-haired girl was crumpled against a wall with a Cold One standing over her. It looked like she was being tortured. But that's not what surprised her. What surprised her was the fact that the human girl was taunting the Cold One.

Whatever the girl said, it clearly angered the parasitic off-breed. With an enraged snarl, the girl was lifted up by her arm, which snapped under the pressure, and thrown across the alley, smacking against the wall with a dull thud. Without stopping to think, Bekah dashed over and grabbed the parasite by its dirty red hair, wrapping her arm around its neck to immobilise it.

"Now, I don't know what you've got against this girl but I don't approve of torture in the streets. And since she just earned my respect, which is not an easy thing to do, I think she deserves a bit of payback. So now you're either going to die or be brutally tortured. Let's let her decide, hm? What do you think, sweet? Should we go with a quick death or a painful torture?"

Bella POV.

Bella was lost. She thought she was going to die, as part of Victoria's sick game. It had been four months since Edward had left and a month since life had started bleeding back into her body. She was able to breathe again, her limbs stopped shaking, the tightness in her chest had slowly vanished and her insomnia and depression had lessened. She felt like an addict that was recovering from withdrawal. It didn't take her long to realise that was exactly what she was. She had been addicted to Edward, dependent on his presence, and his leaving had forced her to quit cold-turkey.

Soon she became angry. It had taken three months before she could cope again. Three months spent locked in her room, unable to really eat or sleep, while her father worried for her, unable to help her. She quickly decided that that was going to change. She would not sit in her room anymore. She would go spend time with her father, make sure he knows that she cares for him. Things went well for the next three weeks. And then Victoria started showing up.

That was when she learned about the wolves. They assured her that they would protect her and Charlie, though they made it known that they were only protecting her for Charlie's sake, since he was an honorary member of the tribe and the best friend of their chief. They held her responsible for Victoria's presence. She didn't even try to explain that she really had nothing to do with it. James had attacked her and the Cullens had killed him in response. And James wouldn't have fixated on her if it weren't for them anyway. The veggie vamps were what drew the nomads into Forks, when they were showing off. The whole thing could be traced back to the Cullen family.

Things went okay for about a week. But then Victoria managed to break through the wolves' defence line and she got to Charlie while Bella was at school. When Bella got home that afternoon, she had found her father in his favourite chair. His head was in his lap and his body was battered and broken. There was a note taped to his chest. Bella didn't look at it, she just ran. She knew Victoria had gotten through, she didn't need to read what she had wrote.

She got in her truck and drove away but she only made it to the supermarket before the truck broke down. So she got out and tried to run, only to collide with a blonde woman just outside the store. She barely managed to get out an apology before getting up and running again. She made it twenty feet before she was grabbed and thrown against a stone wall. Victoria loomed over her and stood on her leg, in exactly the same spot where James did. Bella held in her scream, she refused to give the psycho vampire the satisfaction of hearing her pain.

"Well, well, little Bella. It's been too long, hasn't it? When was the last time we saw each other? Four months ago, wasn't it? On the night that James died. The night your mind-reading mate killed him. Because of you. Because you were stupid enough to get involved with a group of vampires!"

Bella laughed breathlessly, looking up at the deranged vampire.

"Three things, bitch. One, Edward fucking Cullen was not my mate. My mate wouldn't have left me behind at the mercy of a deranged psycho. Two, James got what he fucking deserved. He shouldn't have taken on seven stronger vampires to get to one little human. He was playing a game of fucking Russian roulette and he lost. And three, Edward didn't kill him. He's too much of a pussy to kill anything. Jasper and Alice were the ones who killed him. Alice ripped his damn head off and Jasper was the one who tore him apart and turned him into ash. You should have gone after them, really."

Victoria let out an enraged snarl and grabbed her arm, snapping it easily as she pulled her up and threw her to the other side of the alley where she hit the wall and crumpled to the ground. The next thing Bella knew, there was a blonde woman standing behind Victoria with one arm around her neck and a hand in her hair, pulling her head to the side. The blonde would have been very attractive if it weren't for the red eyes, black veins under her eyes and the bared fangs. Before Bella could blink, the other woman was speaking, a strong, vaguely British accent colouring her words.

"Now, I don't know what you've got against this girl but I don't approve of torture in the streets. And since she just earned my respect, which is not an easy thing to do, I think she deserves a bit of payback. So now you're either going to die or be brutally tortured. Let's let her decide, hm? What do you think, sweet? Should we go with a quick death or a painful torture?"

Pulling herself up into a sitting position, grunting in pain at the effort, Bella looked at the other woman, very confused. She didn't know what was going on. One minute, she was about to die, after a brutal torture session. The next, she was being rescued by a clearly inhuman blonde woman and said blonde woman was giving her the choice of whether Victoria should be tortured or just killed outright.

But the more she thought about it, the more she realised she didn't care. She was alive and she was being offered a chance for payback. Victoria murdered her father, who had nothing to do with the supernatural world. He was brutally attacked, because of a crazy vampire and her pathetic vendetta. He deserved retribution.

"Rip her head off for now, please. I want her to pay. And she's going to feel every second of it."


	2. Teaser

Ok, this isn't a full chapter update. Sorry guys. But I know I've left you guys hanging so I want to make it up to you all. So here's a small teaser of the next chapter, Painful Bondings.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, The Vampire Diaries or The Originals.

" _I want her to pay. And she's going to feel every second of it."_

 _The words had barely left Bella's lips before there was a sudden shriek, the sound of rock being torn apart, and a red head hit the pavement in front of her, Victoria's body crumpling beside its head. Bella felt a savage thrill of vindication run through her at the sight._

" _Well, that certainly relieved my boredom. Come on, sweet. We have a parasite to torture."_

 _Bella looked up at the other woman. She hadn't realised it before, but it was the woman she had run into in front of the store. The blonde was gorgeous. And covered in venom. That was disgusting. Realising she had zoned out and was now just staring, Bella reached up with her good arm and grabbed the wall, using it to pull herself up._

" _Thanks for… stopping her. I'm Bella. Who and what are you?"_

 _Miss Blonde laughed, leaning over to grab the head and body, holding the separated parts effortlessly. She didn't seem bothered by the venom that was leaking from the neck, though it was sickening to Bella._

" _Rebekah Mikaelson, oldest female vampire in the world. Nice to meet you, poppet."_

 _****************************************************************Staring up at her house, Bella couldn't move. She wasn't sure she could survive seeing her father ripped apart. But she wouldn't run away from it. Her dad deserved a proper goodbye from her. Steeling herself, she reached out and opened the front door, letting herself in. Walking through the foyer, she stopped just inside the living room._

 _Bella was frozen, staring at her dad. He had been placed in his favourite chair with extreme care. It would seem respectful if it weren't for the fact his limbs had been nailed to the chair. His head was carefully positioned on his lap. It was like Victoria had felt remorse. Bella might have believed she had, if his limbs were attached to his body._

 _Slowly making her way forward, Bella reached out and pulled the note off the nail, unable to take her eyes of her father. Shoving the note in her pocket, she went to take another step but stopped when she felt something crunch under her foot. Looking down, she let out a scream, backing away. She had stepped on her father's finger._

 _Retching, she turned and ran out of the house, colliding with Rebekah, who was standing just in front of the door. Rebekah grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to stop. She started struggling, wanting only to get away from the house._


End file.
